Complex traits and diseases typically arise from the interplay of various elements, such as genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Effectively addressing these diseases often demands a comprehensive approach that takes into account genetic predisposition, lifestyle modifications, and, when necessary, medical interventions. The rapid advancement of today’s technology is instrumental in studying complex traits using high-dimensional datasets, offering innovative frameworks to unravel the intricate connections between biomolecules, biological phenomena, and the environment. These approaches have been applied to numerous clinical studies, advancing disease diagnosis and enhancing treatment options for patients.
The UK Biobank stands as a treasure trove of data, encompassing genetic and lifestyle information about a substantial population. By integrating and analyzing extensive data from the UK biobank and our own collections, we aim to gain deep insight into the genetic basis of complex traits and establish related prevention and control measures.
We seek to 1) investigate the underlying mechanisms of complex traits and the intricate interactions among multiple factors. 2) explore the relationship between complex traits and other disorders. 3) intergrate imaging phenotypes with multi-omic biological data to develop sophisticated deep learning systems and models. These will aid in the accurate identification of clinical subtypes or drug resistance, prediction of effective treatment strategy, and identification of predictive biomarkers.
Project duration: Estimated duration of this project is expected to be 3 years.
Output: Our intended output over the next 2-3 years is to identify several biomarkers or reveal mechanisms that could lead to 1-2 publications in prestigious journals such as Nature Genetics, Nature Medicine, and Nature Communications.
